The couple who set a new Utah state record with a humongous 2,289-pound pumpkin this weekend may have a Wyoming pumpkin-growing virtuoso to thank for it.
The seed Ralph and Launa Laub used to grow their gargantuan gourd came from Andy Corbin, a Cheyenne pumpkin grower who set Wyoming’s state record last October when he showed up to a weigh-in with a 2,062-pounder.
While the Laubs may owe their new record to the genetics of the giants cultivated by Corbin, their win also knocked off another prominent Wyoming pumpking-grower.
Wyoming’s King Jay Richard, aka the “Pumpkin King,” won the first Center Street Giant Pumpkin Festival in Logan, Utah, last year with a 1,784-pound pumpkin. This weekend, he returned knowing he’d be handing over the title to someone new.
“It felt fantastic to be there,” he told Cowboy State Daily. “At least I had something to put on the scale with them and to share in the excitement.”
Richard still had a good showing at Logan. His pumpkin, which he’s named Jan, came in fourth at 1,285 pounds.
Richard estimates that more than 30,000 people were there to celebrate the Laubs’ victory, and he was right there with them.
“It was a beautiful weekend,” he said. “It felt great to see them succeed, and to have the success that they did. They worked for it, and they earned it.
Can Of Beer Difference
The Laubs’ 2024 pumpkin broke the Utah state record set by Muhammad Sadiq in 2022 by 2 pounds. Richard described the tense moments when the numbers on the scale were evening out.
“It took a second for it to settle,” he said. “It was 1 pound for a second, then it clicked up to 2 pounds when it all settled. One pound was enough, but 2 pounds gave some breathing room. The difference was basically a can of beer. It was pretty amazing.”
But that wasn’t the only state record broken in Logan. D.J. Steffer of Nampa, Idaho, broke his state’s record with a 1,415-pound pumpkin.
Richard’s pumpkin was the only one from Wyoming in the Top 20. Even though it’s been a challenging year for him and many pumpkin people in the Cowboy State, he’s kept his optimism and enjoyment, which made his trip to Logan all the more fun.
“If a 1,285-pound pumpkin is a bad year for me, I’ll take it,” he said.
The giant pumpkins in the 2014 Center Street Giant Pumpkin Festival in Logan, Utah. (Courtesy Jay Richards)
Utah Conditions
Richard knows the Laubs well. They have visited his custom-built greenhouse in Worland and often exchange knowledge and best practices for growing their giant gourds.
“They're good friends and excellent people,” he said. “They drove all the way from Vernal to visit my greenhouse last summer. They wanted to get serious, and boy, did they get serious.”
Growing pumpkins in Utah is very different than in Wyoming. Richard acknowledged that one of the Laubs’ secrets to success is the “Utah conditions.”
“Utah is a long way south of us,” he said. “They don't get the big temperature swings like we do in Wyoming. Their highs aren’t quite as high, and their lows aren’t quite as low. I was frost-free for only 68 days in Worland, and they haven't had a frost yet. More moderate temperature is one of the things that they have an advantage on.”
Of course, the Laubs did several smart things to grow their record-breaker. Their greenhouse has a heater, maintaining a constant overnight temperature of 60 degrees. This keeps their pumpkins happily humming and packing on the pounds.
Richard has considered adding a heater to his greenhouse, but that would be a significant and costly investment. Maybe someday.
“Supplemental heat might not be the next step, but it’s definitely on the list,” he said. “I’ve got to do something about the fluctuations of the nighttime temperatures. I don't know if I could do what they did with their heater here or if I could afford to, but it would certainly help.”
Wyoming Grown
Another notable fact about the Laubs’ record-breaking 2,289-pound pumpkin in Utah is that it came from a Wyoming seed.
The seed they used was a 900 Corbin, which came from a 900-pound pumpkin grown by Andy and Amy Corbin
Richard is trying to reach the 2,000-pound milestone himself, but Wyoming’s weather and growing conditions make that difficult, especially this year.
“Wyoming is a tough place to grow,” he said. “We grow a lot of agriculture here, and it's very good for some crops, but you don't see any commercial pumpkins being grown here on a large scale. The extreme temperatures and the dryness of the air are big factors.”
However, each state has unique issues to contend with when growing giant pumpkins. Richard noted that Minnesota’s excessive moisture didn’t stop grower Travis Gienger from breaking the world record with a 2,749-pound pumpkin in 2023.
“Everybody has their issues, but it can be done anywhere if you're willing to work hard enough to make it happen,” he said.
Wyoming Weigh-Off
The Wyoming State Champion Pumpkin Weigh-Off will be underway at the Washakie County Fairgrounds in Worland on Saturday. Richard will be there, gleefully emceeing the progress of pumpkins, zucchinis and watermelons as they make their way to the scale.
Richard doesn’t expect Wyoming’s pumpkin record to be broken in Worland this year, but that’s not the point of the annual weigh-off. He’s happy to see growers from across the state come to participate and show off their giant feats of growth.
“It's nothing more than bragging rights and a good time,” he said. “And it's a lot of fun. The Wyoming State Champion Weigh-Off always gets people involved who wouldn't normally be involved in these things. It’ll bring them out to participate with us, and that's what it's all about. It’s a day of participation and celebration.”
Of course, there’s also the main event to look forward to. Once everything’s weighed, three or four massive pumpkins will be dropped from a 200-foot crane onto an assortment of objects below, including an 8-foot figure of Wile E. Coyote.
“Wile E. Coyote is going to find out what it's like to catch a 1,000-pound pumpkin on his head,” Richard said.
Andrew Rossi can be reached at arossi@cowboystatedaily.com.
